EW: Freakonomics Review

EW: Freakonomics, based on the megaseller by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, is a linked series of documentary vignettes, each of which purports to illustrate some vital yet whimsically counterintuitive principle about how life really works. It's applied economics as fortune-cookie wisdom. The best segment is one directed by Alex Gibney that explores the rigged aspects of sumo wrestling, an ''honorable'' sport that's actually run the way the Mob once ran boxing. It's a mini-essay.